


autumn leaves

by breaktrio



Category: Inazuma Eleven, Inazuma Eleven: Ares no Tenbin
Genre: 1/10 happy engou day kids, ENGOU WORLD DOMINATION, Feelings Realization, Fluff, Francesco Totti is mentioned, Friends to Lovers, LITERALLY, M/M, Other characters mentioned - Freeform, Self-Indulgent, aged up character, also, ares timeline because i hate myself, endou in the countryside and gouenji takes the bus, endou misses gouenji, i dont how to tag and i try to be too funny sometimes, isn't everything we write self-indulgent?, it's for engou day, it's super innocent, sakanoue is there and i gave him a personality, school festival, they are in their 16s!!!, they go to two different schools but they try to make it work
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-01
Updated: 2020-10-01
Packaged: 2021-03-08 02:27:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,792
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26757988
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/breaktrio/pseuds/breaktrio
Summary: Endou misses Gouenji. A school festival is the perfect opportunity to see his best friend.
Relationships: Endou Mamoru/Gouenji Shuuya
Comments: 5
Kudos: 31





	autumn leaves

**Author's Note:**

> the title isn't from autumn leaves by bts but i thought about it and started singing it.

Endou: Gouenji

Endou: hey

Endou: I can see you saw my text

Endou: answer me

Gouenji: I’m studying. You should too. I know you have a math test in three days

Endou: wow, how do you know it? Are you spying me o r something

Endou: anyway

Gouenji: Aki told me

Gouenji: Endou

Endou: of course she did… I’ll go but

Endou: first

Endou: look

Endou: my school

Endou: is organazzinff

Endou: organazing

Endou: orgnzizi gg

Endou: whatever, you get it

Gouenji: your school is organizing

Endou: that. It’s doing that

Gouenji: What?

Endou: right! a festival! celebrating something i didn’t catch but everyone is super

Endou: excited for it

Endou: sakanoue made me promise to help selling takoyaki

Endou: and i though t

Gouenji: A festival?

Endou: yeah but listen... i thought Do you want to come

Endou: it’s on Saturday

Endou: and i know you are probably busy

Endou: hanging with your friends from kidokawa

Endou: and it’s a long bus rideeee

Endou: but

Endou: i

Endou: kind of

Gouenji: I’ll come

Endou doesn’t regret coming to Tonegawa as a reinforcement committee member for three different reasons: first, he likes it, second, it didn’t have a soccer team so Endou could do what he does best and be a pain in the ass both to the head of the school and to his classmates, and third Sakanoue needed him, but he hates the fact that the school is so faraway from Tokyo and his beloved Inazuma Town, his family and his friends (Aki is there, with him, but it’s not the same when they can’t go the candy shop because there _isn’t_ a candy shop).

Tonegawa Tousen is a country side school and everyone is so welcoming and Endou knows they like him and he likes them too (being Endou Mamoru, the Legendary Captain or whatever they are calling him, helped, but Endou is there just to eat apple pie and play soccer, most of the time), but also they aren’t city kids like Endou. He is happy to share a room with Sakanoue (he preferred Aki, but it’s against the school rules or whatever… Endou doesn’t understand, since Aki is like his sister or something, following him to the countryside because she was scared he would’ve get himself killed if he was alone, or so she says), but also he misses the alone time in his room back at home. He misses a lot of things, but most of all he misses going out to eat ice cream after school with Kidou and Gouenji, Kazemaru too when he had time. He misses it so much. It’s not the same without their ice cream get-together. And he knows he sees them every weekend. He and Aki get the bus back home almost every Friday, because he is a mama boy and he must see the game with his dad or it’s over for him, but it’s not the same.

Not the same.

This weekend he can’t go home, he has too many homework to do (and he doesn’t want to start to think about next week) and he promised to help out with the school festival just because he can’t say no to Sakanoue’s puppy eyes. There is a reason why his parents didn’t give him a younger brother, he thinks. He is too malleable, especially if they are younger than him.

Since Aki had to go back to Inazuma for a family emergency, he felt more alone than ever. This is why he texted Gouenji asking him to come to the school festival. He doesn’t why he did it, but probably it’s because Mamoru misses him… and it’s weird, because he misses Kidou and Kazemaru too, but he didn’t ask them to come. Just Gouenji because he can wait to see the other two, but he can’t wait to see Gouenji Shuuya. There is also the fact that he didn’t see Gouenji the last time he went back home since his friend had a soccer match against Seishou Gakuen.

Pity.

Endou didn’t expect him to say yes to his invitation. He knows it’s too much to ask, to come here, and he knows Gouenji is happy at Kidokawa, even if they didn’t qualify for the Football Frontier, Endou knows Gouenji is doing well there now. Endou is glad, he is, because he was worried when Gouenji informed him about his decision to go back to his old school. Endou knew he talked with Kidou first—and there is a valid reason, Kidou being the logical one of the three of them—to make his choice, but Endou… he still thinks about the Mukata brothers insulting Gouenji in front of him and it makes his blood boil.

Endou kicks a pebble with his shoes as he walks up and down sidewalk, his boots trampling fallen leaves. He is at the bus stop waiting for Gouenji to come. He is late, the twelve PM bus already stopped in front of Endou without him getting out of it. He probably missed the first one because he was late.

Endou isn’t surprised because Gouenji is always late.

It’s the way he does things.

Endou puffs his cheeks. It’s a little bit cold, October starting with really low temperatures. The festival is about celebrating the fall, and it’s a tradition at Tonegawa—he made Sakanoue explain it because he wanted to have something to tell Gouenji.

If he comes.

Mamoru knows he will come because Gouenji does everything he says he will do, and Mamoru trusts him with his life, but Endou really misses him, so his brain is filled with anxiety.

He passes a hand through his hair. Endou looks behind him, the trees slowly moving because of the wind and he sees an empty bench. He takes a step back to sit down, hands in the pocket of his school uniform—he still has to work at the festival, and it’s going to be so late for that and Sakanoue is going to be a little bit annoyed, not too much, because Sakanoue doesn’t know how to get angry. Endou chuckles to himself.

Then he hears the bus approach and he gets up. He really hopes Gouenji is on this one. He doesn’t know what to do if Gouenji isn’t on this one.

A few people get out, and when Endou notices blonde hair and tan skin, he feels his cheeks hurt from how much he is smiling at the sight of his best friend.

“Gouenji!”

Gouenji raises his head, sharp warm brown eyes on him and Endou notices the way his lips curve in the smile he knew Gouenji does only for him.

Endou wants to hug him, but he is a lanky sixteen years old boy and he doesn’t know how to use his arms so when he reaches him, he just… lightly punch him on the chest, “Hey.”

Gouenji tilts his head, “Hey yourself.”

“Late,” Endou says.

“I didn’t drive the bus,” Gouenji says back.

“I waited for you for an hour because you said you were taking the twelve PM bus.”

Gouenji fixes his bag on his shoulder (he is staying for the night, of course, because the festival ends late and the last bus home it’s at five PM) and Endou notices how he is wearing Kidokawa’s uniform, “Sorry, I had morning practice. I ran to the bus station but then it had already left. I texted you.”

“I didn’t charge my phone last night, so it was useless, and I left it in the dorm. Sorry,” Endou smiles and Gouenji does it too.

“Well, I’m dumb and you are dumber, then,” Gouenji comments as he starts following Endou.

“Don’t tell Kidou,” Endou replies, “Let’s go, I have to sell Takoyaki from two PM until four PM.”

“What I do as I wait you?”

“You are going to help us, will you?” Endou asks innocently.

“Endou,” Gouenji’s deep voice is supposed to be scary, used like this, but it makes Endou smile more.

“Yeah?”

“You asked me to come here to put me to work?”

“And spend time with me, of course,” Endou hopes he doesn’t sound to needy.

Endou doesn’t hear him walking behind him and he turns, Gouenji looking at him with a strange expression on his face, something Endou never saw. Or saw and ignored it.

“What?” Mamoru asks.

“You are weird,” Gouenji shakes his head, “You are really weird.”

“Now it’s illegal to spend time with your best friend?”

Gouenji reaches him with a few steps—he is taller than Endou with his stupid long and toned legs—to put a hand on his shoulder, “It’s not.”

“Then why am I being weird?”

“Sorry,” Gouenji huffs out a laugh, “It’s just… I forgot about how much _you_ you are, sometimes.”

“I don’t get it,” Mamoru bites the inside of his cheek.

Gouenji sighs and he looks up, up, at the grey sky trying to find an answer that will satisfied Mamoru—he always does it, to find the words to explain himself better, “It’s because we are far away from each other and I tend,” he stops, squeezes Endou’s shoulder, “I tend to forget how much I…”

Endou grins, flashing his mouth full of white teeth, “Do you mean… that you miss me?”

“Shut up,” Gouenji’s cheekbones are flushed red, “Yes,” he adds with a whisper, five seconds later, “It’s not the same not having you next to me in class.”

“Or on the field,” Endou points out, “It’s strange but it’s what we have to do. And you like Kidokawa.”

“It’s not Raimon,” Gouenji starts walking slowly and Endou joins him, skipping and jumping as Gouenji keeps talking, “I prefer you… and the others, you know.”

“Me too. And I miss you too. This is why I asked you to come. I’m happy you are staying. I’ll buy some Ikayaki. I know who is selling them,” Mamoru jumps a few steps in front of Gouenji and he offers his hand for Gouenji to take.

Gouenji looks his hand, then their eyes meet, “Endou.”

“It’s just us. C’mon, it’s just us,” Mamoru doesn’t want to beg, but he will if he has to, just to have Gouenji hold his hand.

It’s something they do. When they are alone. Endou doesn’t know what it means, really, too young and too naïve, focused on playing soccer more than anything else, but while he tries to figure it out what he wants, what he likes, he will do as he wishes. Well, if Gouenji wants, of course.

Gouenji gives in quickly, “Okay, just for a while.”

Mamoru beams, “For a while!”

Sakanoue and his mom let Gouenji join them to work in the Takoyaki stand. Endou tries his best to sell, but Gouenji is the better at this, probably because he has a calming presence. Endou watches as Gouenji talks softly to an old lady who came to see her niece, telling her to be careful because her Takoyaki it’s hot.

“Endou, hey, are you here?” Sakanoue moves a hand in front of his face.

“Yes?”

“You looked…” Sakanoue follows his line of sight and then sighs, “Well, you are useless.”

That makes Endou turn, “Words hurt, kid. I thought I was your idol.”

“Yes, when we are playing soccer, but outside the pitch you are pretty… not remarkable.”

“Okay, now you are being mean for no reason!”

Sakanoue sticks his tongue out, “I love you, Endou! I’m joking, I’m joking. It’s four PM, by the way. Kaneshiro is coming here to help, so don’t worry and go have fun with Gouenji.”

“Oh, already?” Endou takes off the apron Sakanoue lent him earlier, “Are you sure? We could stay some more…”

Sakanoue shakes his head, “I know you wanted to hang out with your friend from the city. You talked about him coming here for the festival for two entire days.”

“I did not do that,” Endou weakly fights Sakanoue.

“So it wasn’t you saying things like _I wish it was Saturday so I can see Gouenji, it’s been so long since we saw each other it’s like missing a lung or something…_ ” Sakanoue does a very bad impression of Endou’s voice.

Endou glances at Gouenji to check if he is paying attention to Sakanoue’s antics.

“Stop that,” Endou almost pushes him, “I didn’t say that.”

“This is my interpretation and I found it very, very close to the reality. Go and have your date with your not-boyfriend.”

Boyfriend.

It gets stuck in Endou’s brain.

“He, us, we…” but before he can find something coherent to say, Sakanoue is already serving new clients, completely ignoring Endou.

He thinks he is lucky to not have a younger sibling like Sakanoue. Then Sakanoue’s mom kiss him on the cheeks and ruffles his hair before offering Endou a food container full of Takoyaki and ordering him to come to dinner to their place soon, and Sakanoue hugs him tightly because he is going home for the weekend.

Oh no, Endou thinks, he totally has a younger brother.

“Are we going? Sakanoue told me we are off-duty,” Gouenji is washing his hands.

“Yeah, yeah. I promised you a Ikayaki.”

“You did,” Gouenji snickers as he dries his hands on his apron, “It was fun, working here. Sakanoue is a good kid.”

“Is he?” Endou wonders out loud, then he notices Gouenji’s confused expression, “I mean, he is, but he acts all innocent with you, but he is super…”

“Annoying?” Gouenji suggests, getting his bag back on his shoulder.

“He is, just a little bit. He’s an angel, most of the times, he just…”

Gouenji laughs, “Now you know the struggle of an older brother. Welcome to the club.”

Endou groans, “I know, it’s terrible.”

“Is he good at soccer, at least?” Gouenji asks as they get out from the stand.

Endou nods fast, “He is. He is a brilliant player and he loves the game, so it’s fun to play with him.”

Gouenji hums.

Endou looks around, the festival still very much active, stands with food and games full of people eating and playing. Raimon had a similar festival, but it was different as everything is, now.

He glances back at Gouenji, noticing the way he continuously fixes his bag on his shoulder.

“Let’s go to the dorms first,” Endou turns in the opposite direction.

“Why?” Gouenji asks, but he follows him.

“Your shoulder is hurting. Bag too heavy? I told you to not bring too much.”

“You…” Gouenji bites his bottom lip, “It’s nothing, I’m fine.”

“Don’t care, we are going to the dorms.”

“There is no need.”

“There is. Your shoulder and, it’s bothersome walking around with it, anyway. C’mon, it’s a five-minute walk and there is no one there, anyway, since it’s the weekend.”

“One Ikayaki!” Endou orders and Dan—his teammate—nods behind the counter.

“Anything else?” he asks and Endou looks back at Gouenji, but he shakes his head.

“No, we are fine, thank you!”

“Here you go, Captain,” and he takes the Ikayaki from Dan.

He offers it to Gouenji who smiles, “You didn’t have to buy it for me.”

“I wanted to do it, though,” Endou grins, “Wait, I want some onigiri. I heard Minoshima’s dad made these onigiri in the shape of a soccer ball and now I have to see it.”

“Go for it,” Gouenji chuckles.

“I think you exaggerated with the food,” Gouenji comments after swallowing a bite of his Ikayaki.

Mamoru thinks Gouenji eat too little, but probably Gouenji thinks he eats too much, his arms full of food plates and container. But he loves food, especially festival food.

“Never, I’ll eat everything.”

Gouenji shakes his head, “I’m sure, at least we don’t have to cook tonight.”

Endou laughs, “Thank God. Maybe I should pick some other things, so we’ll have enough food for tomorrow too.”

“What are we going to do tomorrow? On Monday you have that math test.”

“Not important. Maybe we could go to see the lake? There is a nice lake here, or maybe we could go and play some soccer with those kids I see sometimes.”

“So, you are not going to study and you are going to fail it?”

“No? I studied. I finished all my homework on Friday because I wanted to spend all my free time with you. Are you angry?”

“No, I… do I look angry?” Gouenji points at his face.

“A little,” Endou gets closer, the tip of his nose almost touching Gouenji’s.

“I’m not angry. I’m embarrassed because you are being sweet like it’s your job.”

Endou explodes in a fit of laughter, almost dropping all the food in his arms, then he rests his forehead against Gouenji’s shoulder.

Sakanoue’s voice comes back in his mind.

He said boyfriend, didn’t he? Well, he said no-boyfriend, but he said it.

Endou knows what a boyfriend is, he is sixteen, but he never though about the idea of having a boyfriend—or a girlfriend. He only though about playing soccer, about having a team to be proud of, about winning the national tournament. And now Endou did everything. Well, he misses the world tournament, but if the rumours are real, that’s going to be soon.

Endou thinks about having a boyfriend (or a girlfriend). Some of his friends have them, and he knows what they do when they are together and he figures out that everything they do with their partners, he does it with Gouenji; going shopping, eating ice cream together, going to the arcade, going to the library, the aquarium, the amusement park, training together, passing the time in Endou’s favourite spot, where he trains and Gouenji just reads a book he likes. The only thing they don’t is… kissing. They hold hands, they share hugs, but they don’t kiss, and Endou is sixteen, and he never kissed nobody, and he thinks about Gouenji’s lips and he thinks he would kiss him. He would like to kiss Gouenji.

“Endou, are you okay?” Gouenji asks, hand of Endou’s lower back, warm and comforting.

“I’m thinking. Let me think.”

“Okay.”

He doesn’t find the need to have a boyfriend (or a girlfriend) if he has Gouenji. There is no need. This makes Gouenji… his boyfriend? But they are not dating. Or Endou thinks they are not. He doesn’t know if Gouenji wants to date him.

He should ask.

“Gouenji,” he murmurs, now with his cheek against Gouenji’s shoulder.

“Finished thinking?”

“What you think about dating?”

Gouenji’s body goes rigid and he stops breathing for ten seconds—Endou counts them.

“Dating in general?” he stammers out after a minute—Endou counts it too.

“Yeah.”

“It’s something people our age do.”

“We should do it, too, then.”

Gouenji laughs, but it’s not an amused one, “Who do you want to date?”

“You,” Endou gets closer, hugging Gouenji, arms closing around his waist, “If I have to choose.”

“Me?”

“You don’t like it?” Endou pouts, but Gouenji is reciprocating his hug, so it can’t be that bad.

“I like it,” Gouenji whispers in his ear.

“Really?”

“Why not? I have nothing better do to.”

“That’s mean,” Endou takes a step back, Gouenji’s arms around him.

Endou cups Gouenji’s cheeks, “So… dating?”

“Yeah.”

“Boyfriends?”

Gouenji smiles, “Yeah.”

“Now, I want to catch some fishes. Let me go,” Gouenji does as he says, but Endou offers his free hand to him.

Gouenji takes it.

“Wow, even with people around,” Endou jokes, making Gouenji blush a little.

“Oh, you are going to tell them I’m your boyfriend from the city,” Gouenji snickers.

“They already know who you are, Flaming Ace Striker…”

“I didn’t approve that nickname.”

“At least you are not stuck with Legendary Captain. I was fifteen years old. Totti didn’t become a Legendary Captain until his retirement.”

Gouenji squeezes his hand as he laughs, “Your career was defined by a Football Frontier.”

“Exactly, now there are only expectations.”

“Luckily, you are good enough to keep your title and your position, Legend.”

“I know you are making fun of me!”

“Didn’t you say you wanted catch some fishes?”

“Right, yes! Let’s go, let’s go!”

Endou doesn’t let go Gouenji’s hand one as he plays. He catches one fish and then he decides that with him he would die.

“Take him to Yuuka… she is better than me at keeping care of living things,” Endou says as he studies the fish in his sad little plastic bag.

“You want to give my nine-year-old sister a fish?”

“Yeah. Do you think she won’t like it?”

“No,” Gouenji says, but there is a weird look in eyes (he already saw it a bunch of times, but never thought about it too much) and Endou will understand soon that is love and affection, and that’s all for him, “She is going to love him. And she loves you, too.”

“That’s only fair because I love Yuuka too.”

Gouenji smiles big, and it’s the first time Endou sees him smiling this big and his heart flutters a little.

“I want to win her a teddy bear,” Gouenji says, “It’s for her collection.”

“Let’s get the bear, then,” Endou holds Gouenji’s hand tighter.

It’s perfect.

Endou didn’t think this weekend would’ve ended like this. But he isn’t complaining.

Gouenji leaves the next day after spending the night not sleeping and talking on the balcony of Endou’s dorm room and looking at the sky, head on Endou’s stomach as he explains constellations and he talks about his friends and how he cried the first week at Tonegawa and how Aki had to swap room with Sakanoue for a night.

Endou is not going to cry, today, but they are on the bus station and Endou knows they have only ten minutes before Gouenji leaves.

He hugs him tightly, “I’m going to miss you very much.”

“Me too,” Gouenji whispers back, “A lot.”

“I’m coming back next week.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, and we could take Yuuka to the park?”

Gouenji nods, “We could.”

“And Kidou…”

“Yeah, he texted me too.”

“Are you going to tell him about us when you see him?”

“If you want me too.”

“I don’t have a problem with that. It’s Kidou, too. He is our best friend.”

“He is.”

Endou scratches his forehead under his orange headband, “Gouenji.”

“Uhm?” Gouenji looks at him with his beautiful eyes.

“I like you a lot.”

“You already told me.”

“I did, but I’m going to do it again. I like you a lot and I’ll miss you more than ever.”

Gouenji cups his cheek with his free hand, then he gets closer, and he kisses Endou’s nose.

“I like you too and I’ll miss you more than ever.”

Endou beams.

**Author's Note:**

> i wanted to post something for engou day! and i have a 61k fic not-so ready in the drafts. it was that or this thing i wrote this afternoon thinking about my favourite boys. i was inspired by an official art that im tooooo lazy to link right now but it was about a school festival and endou was eating this soccer ball it's too funny. anyway this is just... soft and innocent i hope you like it in this first cold day of october (it's so cold in italy it's crazy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) <3 again if you want to talk to me you can find me on tumblr (bombercult) and twitter (break_trio)!!!


End file.
